NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Narrowing down the picks after lottery, combine

With their second first-round pick, the Atlanta Hawks take the first European off the board in Guinean combo forward Sekou Boumbouya, who won’t turn 19 until December and made the leap to the top-tier Jeep Elite circuit in France this season with Limoges.

Atlanta picked up this pick from Dallas in the Trae Young deal during the 2019 draft.

With good size at 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds, Doumbouya projects as a combo forward with some small-ball 4 potential who can fill the lanes on the break very well already. He’s already a good handler with a very quick first step and the instinct to attack the rim on aggressive closeouts.

The problem is that he’s still learning the game and is a stronger athlete than basketball player at this point. But he is a tremendous athlete who runs well, moves well and is a difficult player to contend with in transition and when he gets the ball on the move because of his speed.

Still very raw, but dripping with potential, Doumbouya would be a solid development project for the Hawks and a player who could become a star if he can put everything together offensively, because defensively he’s already improving rapidly.